Chris Gethard
A teacher at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. He has appeared in dozens of shows at UCBNY, and has also traveled around the globe as a member of the UCB Theater Touring Company. Chris has appeared on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and the ABC sitcoms Hope & Faith and the Knights of Prosperity. In 2007, Chris served as a guest writer for Saturday Night Live. He has also contributed writing to the Onion News Network, the Fuse Network, and more. He acted on and assisted the writing staff of the Comedy Central show Crossballs. In the world outside of comedy, Chris is a writer for Weird NJ magazine. In November of 2005, Weird NY, a hardcover book he wrote, was published by Barnes and Noble. Chris is obsessed with seminal early 80s pop group The Smiths. He is the creator of the show Darryl, supposedly the one-man show of New York Mets star Darryl Strawberry, for which Chris was the "understudy." Each and every time the show was performed, Darryl couldn't make it and the show would be performed by Chris. Gethard's regarded as one of the best, most passionate Harold Night coaches in the theater's history (particularly with brand new Harold Teams). Chris is perhaps best known for his trademark laugh that often pierces the "soundproof" tech booth and makes its way to the ears of onstage performers. This laugh is especially notorious for coming at points when no one in the actual audience is laughing. Chris is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Renzo Gracie. Chris was known at Renzo Gracie Academy as a preferred opponent for black belts looking to "mess around." After an incident where Chris was thrown head over heels by Brian Glick (a black belt), Brian leaned over and asked a fallen Chris simply, "Do you wanna talk about it?" Chris has definite anger issues. They fuel his desire to study Jiu Jitsu despite having an almost completely unsuitable frame for such an activity, and also likely drive his comedy. They are part of what has caused him to pursue improv not just as an activity or even an art form but as a samurai code to be honored. Although most of the time his anger merely simmers beneath, giving his stories and performances a playful and pointed spark, they occasionally rise up and render him to an almost non-functioning state. You just have to wait it out. We all have our issues. In March of 2009, Chris got to see his idol, Morrissey when he appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show. In the hall after the show, Chris talked to his idol and got Morrissey to sign his arm in magic marker. Soon after, Chris got Morrissey's signature tattooed to make it permanent. Chris's brother Gregg was not pleased, but just about everyone else thought it was peachy. http://pitchfork.com/news/34906-great-moments-in-morrissey-fandom-the-tattoo/ http://chrisgethard.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-walked-pace-behind-him-at-soundcheck.html Hometown: West Orange, NJ Shows *The Stepfathers (Fridays at the UCB) *Assscat 3000 (Sundays at the UCB) *The Chris Gethard Show Category: Performers Category: Improv Teachers Category: New York City Trivia *Gethard hates all "indie" music with a passion. His only exception is the album Silent Alarm by Bloc Party, which is his secret shame. And also Jay Reatard. And Neutral Milk Hotel, whose album Aeroplane Over the Sea he has used as an analogy for third beats. *In Chris Gethard's level one graduate show, he entered a scene as Jesus and politely asked the apostles to check out his guns, pointing to his biceps. Chris was twenty years old and not large. *In his level two graduate show, his partner initiated a scene about two men cleaning the side of the highway. Chris took that as an opportunity to discuss with him the panopticon, a system of controlling human behavior devised by French philosopher Michele Foucault. *In the olden days when Gethard was on the back line he would watch his teammates' scenes with such intensity he would ever so slightly rock back and forth from foot to foot. He gave the impression of a ball boy at Wimbledon, ready at a moment's notice to swoop in. (He probably sees this as a criticism, but really it is a testament to his commitment and readiness.)